Do we think Donald Trump really believes the lies he pollutes the world with? Certainly, his adoring acolytes seem to — heck, if he never made public appearances they would probably think he actually has the American flag tattooed on his face like in his Truth Social profile picture.
Fittingly, on the very day his criminal trial began — for which he’s accused of falsifying financial records — Trump was fiddling with figures yet again over on his favorite social media site. Taking to Truth Social, the tanned tyrant declared, “When I walk into that courtroom, I know I will have the love of 200 million Americans behind me, and I will be FIGHTING for the FREEDOM of 325 MILLION AMERICANS!”
You’d think his criminal trial would teach him to be more careful about his calculations, but it seems to have missed Trump’s notice that what his curious decree reveals is that he’s fully aware a whopping 125 million U.S. citizens don’t love him. Which is putting it mildly, to be honest.
Exactly how he’s fighting for all Americans by trying to save his own tangerine-hued neck in court is left unclear. Especially as he lost the fight with consciousness on the very first day of the trial. Trump is noted to have “appeared to nod off a few times, his mouth going slack and his head drooping onto his chest.” It took his lead attorney, Todd Blanche, passing him notes for “several minutes” before Trump finally “appeared to jolt awake and notice them.”
Despite his big talk on Truth Social, then, Trump’s energy levels and spirits seemed decidedly low on this inaugural day of the case. He says that he walked into the courtroom, but pictorial evidence suggests it was more of a sad shuffle. Looking at the image above you might argue that Trump looks less like a man on a mission to free 325 million Americans and more like a melancholy ghost haunting a sack of potatoes.
Donnie had better hope he’s got the stamina for the long haul here as his trial is expected to last upwards of six weeks — jury selection will probably last another week before the prosecution properly gets down to business. Was the poor guy just tuckered out on this first day because he’d spent all his energy holding down the caps lock when posting to Truth Social?
Or, beneath his blowhard bravado, in a rare moment of self-awareness as he entered a trial that could theoretically end with him facing a decade in jail, was he weighed down by the knowledge that at least 125 million Americans, and countless more around the globe, hate his guts?
Nah, probably not. Trump most likely drank his own Kool-Aid long ago. The orange flavor, obviously.